At the request of a fellow LP member, I decided to write a review of my R8 Twin Turbo. Enjoy!

I took delivery of my Heffner Performance Twin Turbo R8 about two months ago and I have been very happy with the car. The car is a 2009 Audi R8 4.2, a fully optioned car that I picked up from Shelby Smith of Elite Autos back in April. I had the car shipped directly to Jason for the twin turbo conversion. I did have an opportunity to drive the car in its stock form when I was down at the shop one weekend. It was my first time driving an R8 and I was very impressed with the smoothness, drivability, and comfort of the car, but man was it slow. I mean, really slow. The car was in desperate need of a little boost.

Now that I have been driving the car for a while, I have to say that it is quite an achievement. First of all, the car looks unbelievably good and has major curb appeal. It turns heads whereever it goes. Unlike the Lambo which is just totally bonkers looking, this car gets a different type of attention. It is like a sleek, futuristic spacecraft coming down the road and people really react to it. There are very few visual indications that the car is modded, except for the Heffner Twin Turbo badges on the lower rockers and the slick intercooler which takes the place behind the engine where the factory airbox was. Peering into the engine compartment reveals Heffnerís flawless fabrication work. The exhaust piping is pretty well concealed behind the rear bumper, but if you look harder you will see the two turbos with their short charge piping runs feeding directly into the custom fabbed intercooler. You will also see the recirculation valves and black powder coated air intake piping feeding the compressors. The look is very much OEM; in fact, I think it looks cleaner than the stock setup, if thatís possible.

Aurally the car is louder than a stock R8, although the R8 has so much sound deadening that inside the car, with the windows rolled up all you hear is the pure engine note and the whoosh of the turbos and recirculation valves. The sound level inside the car is perfect; loud enough to realize you are driving a high performance sports car, but not so loud that it fatigues you after a long trip or requires you to shout at your passenger. With the windows rolled down you realize that it is actually quite loud, but sounds incredible. The V8 actually has a muscle car-like rumble to it at low to midrange rpm, and you can hear the whir of the turbos as they spool up and down with the throttle pedal. Give it a bootful of throttle and the rumble quickly builds to a high pitched wail that is absolutely intoxicating.

The drive of the car is phenomenal. Not only does the engine look OEM, but it also drives OEM. While I am a big proponent of turbocharged engines, I also admit that there are very few turbo engines out there that have ideal drivability characterisitics. This is one that does. Since this is a bolt on build, the stock compression ratio is retained and as a result, there is absolutely no turbo lag. Throttle response is rapid and linear with throttle position movement, and the tuning across the rev range and load range is spot on. Engine torque is very linear and very smooth, just like the stock engine, except there's a lot more of it. What the engine is missing is the hard and sudden shove in the back that is typical of a turbo car. Instead, this engine builds power with RPM, and the the higher you rev it, the faster it moves. This type of response feels more like a high revving normally aspirated engine than a turbo engine, and makes the car incredibly easy to drive around corners, and allows the tires to maximize traction in a straightline. The handling of the car is telepathic as well. Although it is an all wheel drive car, the handling balance mimics that of a rear wheel drive car, and the car is incredibly easy to drift under power, even at very high speeds. There is enough torque almost everywhere in the rev range to get the tail out without much effort. Everything about the driving of the car is so smooth and effortless. The pedals and shifter are perfectly located, the brakes are phenomenal, the driving position is comfortable, and the car is so stable and confidence inspiring. The twin turbo treatment does not hinder the ease of drivability of the car in any way. It simply amplifies the fun factor and performance.

If I had to find a complaint about the car, I would say that it is almost too smooth and too civilized and that actually takes some of the excitement away from the experience. And even though it is quite fast, I feel like it could use some more power. I guess thatís the problem with owning a TT Gallardo. After you get used to that car, pretty much every other car feels slow. Fortunately Heffner is developing a bolt-on 8 psi package for the car which should increase power enough to satisfy me without affecting the drivability at all. I understand that Heffner is working on a built motor as well, but I donít think I would go that route. At the end of the day the R8 TT serves my purpose in that it falls in between my daily driver and my TT Gallardo performance and style wise, is a car that I could use as a subsitute daily driver if I decided to, and will outrun 90% of the cars on the road.

VeryNice!I just dont see why you would choose to ever drive that over the Gallardo..

The only way to explain it is that the R8 is easier than the Gallardo, though less gratifying. If I take the Gallardo on a 2 hour drive I get out of the car feeling like I got beat up. Especially with the top down on a sunny day with the sound of the V10 reverberating in my skull. I just took the R8 on a 6 hour trip, almost made it on one tank of gas, and got out of the car feeling fresh as a spring zephyr.

QUOTE (DRS @ Jul 7 2010, 06:01 AM)

What numbers does this configuration put down 0-60, 1/4 mile and 60-130 wise?

looks great.

I've only gotten some preliminary VBOX numbers so far, in very hot humid conditions and with a lot of fuel in the car. My best runs were as follows:0-60 in 3.61/4 mile in 11.9 @ 123 mph60-130 in 9.0 seconds

QUOTE (Nath4N @ Jul 7 2010, 08:00 AM)

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to write it R8 TT seems to be a great great car.

I've only gotten some preliminary VBOX numbers so far, in very hot humid conditions and with a lot of fuel in the car. My best runs were as follows:0-60 in 3.61/4 mile in 11.9 @ 123 mph60-130 in 9.0 seconds

Good writeup.

The hardcore segment of the board will think those numbers are all on the slow side, but actually they're not bad considering how weak the V8 car is stock (traps at 112-114mph consistently across multiple tests).

So even in preliminary first-run VBOX numbers you've picked up between 9-11mph in trap gains and that's BEFORE you boost it to the 8lb setting later...

Dino was kind enough to let me have a go in it. Except for scaring him a little going sideways a bit it went pretty smooth I was blown away by how well behaved and easily controllable it was. Amazing sound, great handling and just all around a very fun car to drive. ! It does need a bit more power to not have to struggle with stock exotics and somewhat modded Porsches .

The only way to explain it is that the R8 is easier than the Gallardo, though less gratifying. If I take the Gallardo on a 2 hour drive I get out of the car feeling like I got beat up. Especially with the top down on a sunny day with the sound of the V10 reverberating in my skull. I just took the R8 on a 6 hour trip, almost made it on one tank of gas, and got out of the car feeling fresh as a spring zephyr.

I've only gotten some preliminary VBOX numbers so far, in very hot humid conditions and with a lot of fuel in the car. My best runs were as follows:0-60 in 3.61/4 mile in 11.9 @ 123 mph60-130 in 9.0 seconds

I took a R8V10 on a weekend trip to Miami with the gf...... know what you mean about feeling fresh, due to fact that its a great platform for road head, something only the foolhardy would try in a G.

Thanks for the writeup, very interesting. I too am a fan of the R8. Even though I owned one for only a short time, I had nothing bad to say about the car that a TT kit wouldnt have fixed. In the end I decided to go for the 560 TT, but I was very close to going R8 V8 TT or R8 V10 TT. The fact that a new V10 R8 optioned the way I wanted was pretty close to the same price as the 4 month old LP560 that I wanted (and bought) made the decision a bit easier. I agree with you about the Lambo beating you up a bit on trips and also agree with all the stuff you said about the R8, but I dont think I personally would own both a G TT and an R8 TT at the same time. I prefer the G TT and 911 PDK combo

Glad to see you are fully enjoying your cars. I wish I had more time to enjoy mine!

As for Vbox numbers, they cant be compared to other car's numbers done on different days/conditions. Heat and other factors could have easily cost 2+ seconds in the 60-130mph times. I remember doing 60-130mph in my G TT on pump in horrible conditions and it was over 7 seconds. In ideal conditions it ran like 5.29 on pump.

Thanks for the writeup, very interesting. I too am a fan of the R8. Even though I owned one for only a short time, I had nothing bad to say about the car that a TT kit wouldnt have fixed. In the end I decided to go for the 560 TT, but I was very close to going R8 V8 TT or R8 V10 TT. The fact that a new V10 R8 optioned the way I wanted was pretty close to the same price as the 4 month old LP560 that I wanted (and bought) made the decision a bit easier. I agree with you about the Lambo beating you up a bit on trips and also agree with all the stuff you said about the R8, but I dont think I personally would own both a G TT and an R8 TT at the same time. I prefer the G TT and 911 PDK combo

Glad to see you are fully enjoying your cars. I wish I had more time to enjoy mine!

As for Vbox numbers, they cant be compared to other car's numbers done on different days/conditions. Heat and other factors could have easily cost 2+ seconds in the 60-130mph times. I remember doing 60-130mph in my G TT on pump in horrible conditions and it was over 7 seconds. In ideal conditions it ran like 5.29 on pump.

Well said. Initially I was surprised at how different the Gallardo and the R8 are. My original understanding were that they were basically the same car with different skin, but this is not the case at all. In that way I think the two cars complement each other. BTW I wish I had more to enjoy them too!

I want to stress that the VBOX runs were impromptu runs in anything but ideal conditions. I honestly don't think the car has 7's in it (60-130), but I am sure I could improve on all of the times by at least a few tenths without much trouble. A 30 degree drop in ambient combined with an empty gas tank will make a huge difference, especially since the car has a very large fuel capacity. Not to mention that I probably need more seat time in the car before I can optimize my launch and shift times. Nevertheless, from a seat of the pants perspective, the car feels like it could use a bit more horsepower.

I also put the car on corner weight scales with a full tank of gas to see what the weights are.

Nice write up and beautiful car. I have always been a fan of the R8, but also not a fan of it's performance. Given your stable, I am not sure how you would decide what to drive. The Rossion Q1 is likely my next purchase. How does it compare with the Gallardo TT and R8TT?

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"May the best of your todays, be the worst of your tomorrows" - Jay-Z, Forever Young

Well said. Initially I was surprised at how different the Gallardo and the R8 are. My original understanding were that they were basically the same car with different skin, but this is not the case at all. In that way I think the two cars complement each other. BTW I wish I had more to enjoy them too!

I want to stress that the VBOX runs were impromptu runs in anything but ideal conditions. I honestly don't think the car has 7's in it (60-130), but I am sure I could improve on all of the times by at least a few tenths without much trouble. A 30 degree drop in ambient combined with an empty gas tank will make a huge difference, especially since the car has a very large fuel capacity. Not to mention that I probably need more seat time in the car before I can optimize my launch and shift times. Nevertheless, from a seat of the pants perspective, the car feels like it could use a bit more horsepower.

I also put the car on corner weight scales with a full tank of gas to see what the weights are.

Front: 854L 776R = 1,630 (44%)

Rear: 1022L 1078R = 2,100 (56%)

Total: = 3,730 lbs

Agree, they are totally different cars. I know I can get that car into the 7s in ideal conditions, I would bet low 7s. I was able to get my stock SLR which weighed the same to 7.24 seconds in ideal conditions.

Agree, they are totally different cars. I know I can get that car into the 7s in ideal conditions, I would bet low 7s. I was able to get my stock SLR which weighed the same to 7.24 seconds in ideal conditions.